A blog showcasing the characters, vehicles, items and pretty much anything else that involves Time Travel in DC comics.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Worlds' Finest #0

Sit tight folks this one's a headache.

SPOILERS AHEAD
The tone of this book has been something that's hard to find. While it seems like something that would have a very pro-woman vibe with two great leading ladies the execution has left A LOT to be desired. This issue does have some great moments but their overshadowed by some pretty iffy tones. Some of them don't seem that big but once you combine these moments it adds up pretty quickly. I'll save the big one for last but let's go over all the little things.

Cliche of superhero saving a woman from men: I don't think I need to say what this implies. The only difference here is that it's countered with a pro-woman moment between mother and daughter.

Selina supporting Helena as Robin saying she was safe because of her training and the fact Selina was there. Bruce counters "But I wasn't." : This starts of a weird trend of comments that the women in Earth 2 aren't considered safe unless a man is with them.

"Not like Lois. I should have never have let her stay in Metropolis.": Yeah he's grieving but the word "let" really bugs me in this phrasing. Like he allowed her to stay? Lois has always loved her job and knew the risks. She would never have forgiven him if he forced her to leave. Clark sounds a little too controlling here.

Clarks' "...And I didn't get there till I heard her scream." and Bruces' "I didn't get there in time.": Another nod to the fact women need their man to protect them.

"The alarm's never gone off in my lifetime...the most competent man on the planet doesn't need help, and mom would never ask for it.": Bruce is said to be competent while Selina comes off sounding more reckless than skilled.

Because Clark (or Kal as he's called here) is overprotective Kara doesn't want anyone to know she saved Helena. As a result Superman got the credit. Complete with a police officer saying how lucky that young woman was that Superman rescued her.

The worst moment is the murder of Selina. Thankfully Maguire didn't show much of the body, which is way more tasteful than most W.I.R. moments. Make no mistake, this is a Women in Refrigerator moment. Now we all knew that Selina was likely to die since her death was the reason Helena Wayne first took up the Huntress mantle in the old Earth 2. Plus Helena has no desire to return home which would be weird if she had some family left. But look at how Bruce died compared to Selina. He chose to die heroically to save the world and had some heartwarming words to Helena to say his goodbye. Selina gets killed off panel when she doesn't realize how bad a situation was despite telling Bruce that she could handle herself and protect their kid.

After Selinas' death the writing seems to go south both in speech and the protrayal of girls. Kara didn't seem to know Lois when she was talking to Kal about her but now Lois was like a mother to her? Her bored expression doesn't seem to convey that. Helena says their be best friend forever out of the blue. Yeah?

This is the last Worlds' Finest I plan to buy. Yes the Damian/Helena meeting sounds interesting but unless I hear great things about it I don't plan on buying it. I miss the old Power Girl and Helena B. as Huntress. The only thing interesting about this Huntress was the fact she was Robin.